


The Lynx and The Magpie

by HellBentOnChocolate212



Category: Radiant (Manga)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Conversos (Radiant), Thaumaturges (Radiant), The Inquisition (Radiant), Thievery, adding tags as I go, sort of canon compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellBentOnChocolate212/pseuds/HellBentOnChocolate212
Summary: The Inquisition’s beliefs have always banked on the world being a black and white place. Captain Dragunov, for all his loyalty and respect to the organization, thought he knew better than that.But after crossing paths with a horned sorcerer with the supernatural ability to use fantasia bare-handed, and a flighty thief with a knack for disappearing acts -well, he’s about to learn just how little he actually knew.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Lynx and The Magpie

_I try to be an ethical thief. I’ve never killed anyone, never stole anything that couldn’t be lived without. It’s just that I simply cannot deny my nature._

_To the shock of absolutely no one, the Inquisition didn’t get that memo._

“Give up, Sorcerer! You can’t escape us!” The winged Converso yelled, his voice barely intelligible over the roaring engines of the Celestial Units. 

Wings of Fantasia beat against the wind as Magpie took a quick glance back at his pursuers. _Adriel just doesn’t give up, does he?_ The way the bag of stolen jewelry clattered against the wind felt almost as loud as the way his heart pounded in his chest as he maneuvered around the buildings of Veteris Hill. 

Approaching the edge of the Hill, the thief could hear the sound of the Celestial Units growing louder as they began to close in. From the corner of his eye, he could see the outline of the Converso’s whip reeling back to strike. Bolting to the left- Pain bloomed across Magpie’s skin as the whip grazed his back.

Next thing he knew, one of his wings was dissipating like smoke through his grasp and his world’s blurring together as he felt himself plummet from the sky. Through it all, Magpie was vaguely aware that this was probably going to kill him. Then impact.

 _Well, I didn’t die as much as I thought I would_ Pulling himself to his knees, the thief surveyed the white, rubbery surface of his floating savior among the sea of clouds. I'm on top of an airship. But whose? The feeling of the balloon shifting from behind under new weight snapped him from his thoughts. 

“You still alive, punk?” An irritatingly familiar voice shouted. 

“Oh, only on the outside.” 

Magpie stilled -and if the lack of sound meant anything then the Converso did too- as the Celestial Units drew closer to the point he could just about feel the gust of wind coming off their propellers

“It’s impressive that you managed to get this far on your own, but in the end you’re just making things harder on yourself.” The thief could feel the balloon slowly dip further. _He’s getting closer. Stupid move._ “Cooperate, and I can promise you’ll get a lighter sentence than if you continue to resist.”

“As much as I enjoyed our game of tag….” He gingerly let go of the bag. “I’m going to have to take you up on that.” 

Slowly he raised his hands in surrender, hoping Adriel missed the subtle flex of his hands as he did so; praying that the deep thrumming of the flying machines buried the light click of his gauntlets. 

Scanning his surroundings, Magpie spotted one Celestial Unit just at the corner of his eye but estimated there to be at least three. _The winds are too harsh to be just one flying machine and there’s not a chance in hell that winged sellout got the drop on me with it hanging on the side like that; so the other two should be behind me. I’ll have to move fast if I’m getting out of this in one piece._

As soon as Adriel’s hand connected with his wrist, he struck; twisting around in the Converso’s grip, the thief released metal talons down on the man’s leg; ripping through cloth and flesh like butter. 

With a strangled scream, the Converso staggered back; loosening his hold on the smaller man’s arm just enough for Magpie to yank himself free. 

Arm cast out at the winged man, black hues of Fantasia gathered at the palm of his gauntlet only to erupt into thick plumes of smoke with a shout.

“Volat Vapor Sonum Emittant!”

Rage overtook Adriel’s features as he heaved himself forward in an attempt to rush Magpie only to pass through his darkened form as if the thief had evaporated into the smoke itself. 

“Coward!” He roared into dark smog. 

For as quickly as the smoke had appeared, the flying machines’ propellers filtered the air through them just as fast; leaving little of the plumes left to linger and no trace of the Magpie

**Author's Note:**

> Do I have you hooked? Good! Because I go on a lot of hiatuses so you’re going to need that incentive to wait for my next update. 
> 
> Until then, I’d appreciate some comments whether they be minor questions about the story or constructive criticism.


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